Phase 2 - Medieval Site Works – to begin once the new School Building has opened
- Demolition of the current music school (The Palatine Building) which is in an unsustainable condition and obscures the site of where Manchester began
- Conversion of classrooms into living accommodation and essential upgrades to existing student accommodation in The Millgate and Nicholls Building
- Critical repair and restoration work
- Structural changes to prepare the medieval site to welcome a wider public in, alongside Chetham’s School of Music
- All of the above will lead towards the creation of a major new Visitor Attraction
This phase focuses on two critical areas of development: providing residential accommodation for our students which is suitable for 21st century standards, and revealing Manchester’s Medieval Heritage.
We are working to bring the medieval buildings into full public visibility and access. This will be achieved by removing the low quality appendages, which have grown up around the historically and architecturally significant buildings on the site as follows:
The medieval buildings have a number of low-grade 20th century additions on their north elevation, which will be removed.
The Millgate Building (formerly Manchester Grammar School) has a temporary structure bordering the courtyard, which conceals the original medieval wall; this will be removed.
The Palatine Buildings which run the length of Victoria Street will be demolished. They were constructed in the 19th century to perform functions related to Victoria Station. Since then, they have undergone many changes to accommodate a variety of different uses and have been stripped externally and internally of their original architectural features. This construction sits hard up against the medieval buildings and the loss of the 19th century history (caused by the removal of the much altered Palatine buildings) is far outweighed by the benefits gained by revealing the medieval buildings on their rocky outcrop.
The citizens of Manchester will become aware of this incredible heritage in their City which was previously hidden. Access to it will soon become possible without compromising the essential security of the School’s campus.
All of this is working towards creating a visitor experience, a Medieval Manchester destination for people to visit and enjoy.
